ranv 


D"ke  University  Libraries 

Memorial  of  Hon 
Conf  Pam  #684 


MEMOEIAL 

OF  PIOX^  JOHN  TOWNSEND,  llEV."  BEXJ.  M.  PALMER^ 
IIOX.  W.  F.  DeSAUSSUKE,  AND  PROF.  M.  LaBORDE, 
ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  "CENTRAL  ASSOCIATION  FOR 
THE  RELIEF  OF  SOLDIERS  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA," 
PRAYING .  FOR  AN  ABPROPRIATION  OF  MONEY  FOR 
THAT  OBJECT. 


lo  the  Honorable  fhe  Mcmhcrs  of  fhe  Leji'slaliue 

of  the  Slate  of  South   Carolina  : 

The  memorial  of  the  undersigned  respectfully  slieweth  :  That  they 
have  been  appointed  on  behalf  of  the  "  Central  Associatioa  for  the 
Relief  of  the  Soldiers  of  South  Carolina,"  to  invoke  your  attention 
to  the  eondition  of  our  soldier.-s  in  the  field,  and  in  our  hospitals,  and 
to  petition  your  interposition  in  their  favor.  The  objcet  and  purposes 
of  that  Associatioa  uiay  bo  understood  by  a  reference  to  "The  plan 
and  Address  adopted  by  the  citizens  of  Columbia,  October  20th, 
18G2,"  a  Copy  of  which  we  ask  leave  to  lay  before  yout  honorable 
body. 

We  appear  before  you  with  freedom,  and  without  reserve — first,  be- 
cause we  ask  nothing  for  ourselves,  personally;  second,  because  the 
iffatter  which  we  presume  to  lay  before  you  is  one  in  which  every 
family  in  the  State,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  is  -deeply  concerned; 
and  third,  because  from  our  past  history,  we  have  derived  the  confi- 
dence that  a  Legislature  of  Sovfth  Carolina  has  never  been  appealed 
to  r?i  behalf  of  any  culighteiicd  plan  of  public  beneficence  by  which 
the  feeble  were  to  be  protected,  and  the  poor  cared  for,  and  that  ap- 
peal made  in  vain. 

To  an  intelligent  body  like  the  Representatives  of  the  people,  we 
deem  it  unnecessary  to  cnLirge  upon   the  sufferings  of  our  gallant  sol- 


(licrs,  arising  from  the  want  of  clothes,  of  blarikcts,  of  shoes,  ami 
proper  hospital  attention.  Our  newspapers  arc  filled  with  accounts  of 
their  privations  in  these  particulars,  and  of  their  uiorc  acute  sufTcrinirs 
in  the  hospitals,  when,  wounded,  sick  and  feeble,  they  arc  unable  to 
obtain  the  medical  aid,  or  nurses,  or  food  proper  for  the  sick  j  and  no 
man  can  live  upon  ouj  hi;ih\vays  of  travel,  or  pass  frequently  upon  our 
railroads,  whose  heart  "will  not  be  pained  by  the  pitiable  spectacles 
of  wounded  men,  with  their  wounds,  for  days,  undressed,  and  sick 
men  iu  every  stage  of  disease  (contracted,  generally,  frcuu  want  of 
proper  clothing),  dragging  along  their  wasted  frames,  in  search  of  their 
native  homes,  with  none  to  care  for  tkcin  by  the  "way, •or  provide  fur 
them  the  proper  food. 

And  who  are  these  men  so  neglected  in  their  distresses  ?  They  are 
the  sons,  tlie  brothers,  and  the  fathei"?,  who  had  gone  forth  at  the  call 
of  our  State  to  secure  to  us  the  protection  which,  as  a  people,  we  now 
enjo}',  but  who  are  now  returning  to  tLcir  tamilies,  broken  down  by 
disease,  or  maimed  or  wounded,  to  be  no  longer  the  prop  and  support, 
but  an  incumbrance  to  their  households.  Can  calamities  like  these 
be  averted  from  these  families  ?  Can  such  sufferings  be,  in  any  degree, 
alleviated  ? 

THE    MOST   PRESSING    EVIL. 

Your  memorialists  have  supposed  that  if  your  honorable  bodies  an- 
swer the§e  inquiries  affirmatively,  you  will,  without  delay,  put  forth 
the  strong  arm  of  the  Government  to  accomplish  the  object.  The 
Central  Association  have  believed  that  they  can,  and  have  acted  ac- 
cordingly- And  as  they  believe  that  the  uio&t prc'ssiu(/  evil  which  now 
besets  cur  army,  and  threatens  to  destroy  its  efficiency,  and  bring  dis- 
aster upon  our  cause,  is  the  want  of  blanlcets,  shoes  and  proper  clothing 
for  our  soldiers  in  the  Held,  and  that  this  evil  is, the  friytful  cause  of, 
much  of  the  sickness  and  disease  vhich  tills  our  hospitals  and  thins  our 
ranks,  they  have  addressed  themselves,  as  their  lirst  duty,  to  rctnove 
this  evil,  by  sendinrg  on  as  rapidly  ac  possible  to  our  destitute  soldiers, 
all  the  clothing,  blankets  and  shoes,  whica  they  could  command  by 
purchase  or  by  having  them  made  up,  oV  by  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  our  generous  and  true  hearted  people.  (These  articles  of  such  indis- 
pensable necessity  to  our  soldiers  have  flowed  in  upon  our  Association  , 
in  one  full,  constant  stream  of  gushing  benevolence  fi'om  every  part 
of  this  District,  and,  as  information   of  the  objects  and   aims  of  the 


Central  Association  is  extended,  tliey  begin  to  pour  in  from  other  parts 
of  the  State. 

HOW   THE   CENTRAL   ASSOCIATION  ARE   EMPLOYED. 

•  Within  less  than  four  week?,  after  tlie  organizati6n  of  the  Associa- 

•  tion,  the  cotitributious  in  money  amounted  to  more  than  twenty-two 
thousand  dollars,  and  in  hkinhctx^  and  carj-l^sf,  to  be  converted  jnto 
blankets,  and  clothing  of  all  kinds — (some  of  it  from  the  private  ward- 
robes of  our  citizens)  the  contributions  were  valued  at  more  than  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  this  liberal  contribution  has  been  made  chiefly  from 
the  town  of  Columbia  and  its  immediate  vicinity — the  remoter  parts  of 
the  District  of  Kichland  not  yet  being  heard  from.  Prom  this  spontane- 
ous benevolence  of  the  people  of  the  neigh.boniood,  the  large  warcroom 
of  the  Association  soon  became  filled  with  the  difi'crent  needqd  articles 
for  oureoldicrs,  which  were  assorted,  boxed  up,  and  directed  to  the  dif- 
ferent brigades,  regiments  and  companies  of  our  army,,  and  all  (as  well 
the  general  contributions,  as  the  ^^iccial  donations  of  individuals  to  their 
friends),  being  two  full  carloads,  were  sent  forward  on  the  7tli  instant, 
to  our  troops,  under  the  care  of  two  trusty  agents,  selected  especially 
for  that  purpose,  with  instructions  not  to  lose  sight  of  them  until  they 
M'erc  delivered  to  the  parties  for  whom  they  were  inteftded.  In  like 
manner,  another  full  car  load  will  be  sent  forward  on  the  24th  of  this 
month,  under  another  special  agent,  the  Association  having  adopted 
the  precaution,  as  the  first  step  after  their  organization,  to  send  on  au 
active,  intelligent  messenger,  with  instructions  to  visit  each  brigade 
and  regiment  of  our  army,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  personally 
the  wants  of  each'  man,  and  to  report  to  the  As.'tociation  without  delay. 
The  result  of  that  investigation,  as  it  may  be  interesting  to  the  mem- 
bers of  your  honorable  bodies  who  have  friends  in  the  several  brigades 
visited,  is  here  submitted. 

On  the  next  page  \r\\\  be  found  du  cxfract  from  the  report  of  Mr. 
Edwin  J.  Scott,  made  to  the  Central  Association,  after  his  return  from 
his  visit  to   our  armies  in   Yirsinia. 


55 

C5 


o 
o 


t—l 

O 

P3 


O 
W 

H 
O 

fa 

o 

CO 


'SJdpaodsng 


•saAOfj) 


•sjOMt;j(j 


•s^Jiqg 


CO  ^s< 


•S}jit[8Jopa|^ 


O  Ci  QO 

I-- 

»- 

:;^ 

Ci 

■^  . 

oo 

oo 

t—t 

r^ 

-^ 

1^  — 

o 

(M 

1^ 

<M  »0  — < 

•—1 

O 

03  04  C5 

1— t 

CO 

Ci 

o 

r— 

-r 

C-l 

o 

(M 

sjJiqg  iDaaB[^x  j  g^ 


O  <M 
(M 


I    O'  C5  O 


•S;8J[0T?X»       =5 


•SIBOQ 


•S^BOOJOAO 


•sjajiucia; 


r-i  oo   I— 

r^  io  CO 


iTi  OO  -f  O 
O.CS  GO  00 
O  -"a^  I- 


■  r.  CO  C5 
O  -M  CO 
I— I  O'J  ■>! 


•SI[0Og 


•SI^H 


•BDoqg 


•f  o  »o 

r-l  -t<  h:- 
O  (M  CO 


CO  lO  CQ  to 

CO  CO  CO          Oi 

•rr  O  t—    ■   I— I 


Oi  I— I 


rH     C     ° 


-     53 


M 


P5 


to        a 

<s-\  ""^  H^ 
-^    Ov- 

^   2    - 


^fi-' 


o  a  f-  _^  o 

'-  OJ  o    rt  p 

C3  C3  «     OJ  ^ 

S  o  s  o 


r  S    -  "^ 


P 


i-H  rH  >    tfl 


O'-' 


■^   -£ 


Ph  oh:? 


S  to 

r  « 

OH? 

a 

.^  <D 

^  2 

2  § 


o    a> 


O.^, 


O 


0 

CLOTHING     FURNISHED     FBOM     QUARTERMASTER'S     !DEPARTMENT     OE 
SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

It  may  be  interesting  here  to  add,  for  the  information  of  your  hon- 
orable bodies,  that  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Central  Associa- 
tion, when  they  were  anxiously  looking  about  for  a  supply  of  proper 
clothing  for  the  immediate  use  of  our  destitute  soldier?,  their  attention 
■was  directed  to  the  supply  which  liad  been  prudently  accumulated  in 
the  stores  of  the  Quartermaster's  Deportment  of  this  State,  for  the  use 
of  our  troops  in  State  scrvic'c.  This  stock,  it  was  ascertained,  the  As- 
sociation would  be  permitted  to  purchiise  sxt'cost,  to  the  extent  at  least, 
that  their  funds  would  reach,  on  the  express  condition,  however, 
that  they  were  to  be  given  only  to  the  soldiers  from  South  Carolina,  in 
the  armies  of  Virginia.  But  whilst  tlrt)  Association  was  in  treaty  with 
the- public  authorities  on  that  matter.  Col.  McGowan,  from  the  army  in 
Virginia,  opportunely  came  forward  and  relieved  the  Association  of 
that  heavy  purchase,  and  took  the  whole  stock  with  him  to  the  army, 
and  by  an  arrapgement  with  the  Quartermaster  of  the  Confederate 
States,  the  cost  of  the  articles  will  be  charged  against  that  Government 
in  favor  of  this  State,  in^he  future  adjustments  of  the  accduuts  be- 
tween the  two  Governflicnts.  It  is  most  gratifying  to  think  that  this 
.supply,  together  with  the  several  .car-loads  of  similar  articles  which 
have  been  sent  on  by  the  Central  Association,  will  go  far  to  supply  the 
present  and  most  pressing  wants  of  our  soldiers  in  Virginia.  Some  ar- 
ticles of  indispensable  necessity  arfe  still  required,  and  to  the  procuring 
of  these  the  Association  is  directing  their  earnest  efforts.  Should  they 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  procure  these,  our  people  may  enjoy  the  high  sat- 
isfaction of  reflcctijig  that  their  friends  in  the  army  are,  for  the 
2)rescnt  and /or  a  fi  IV  7nont7is  to  come,  so  far  provided  with  clothinc:, 
blankets,  and  partly  in  shoes,  as  to  secure  them  from'  those  dangers 
which  every  one  had  such  just  cause  to  apprehend  from  their  exposure, 
unprotected,  to  a  rigorous  climate. 

ANOTHER  SUPPLY  WILL  SOON  BE  NEEDED. 

But  even  if  our  soldiers  were,  at  this  time,  properly  and  fully  equip- 
ped (which  is  far  from  bcrng  the  case),  let  it  be  carried  in  mind,  that 
they  have  generally  but  a  single  suit  of  clothes;  that  many  articles  of 
that  suit  are  not  of  ilie  most  durable  texture,  and  that  in  a  few  brief 
months  it  will  require  to  be  renewed.  Let  It  also  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  long  and  rapid  marches  in  pursuit  of  an  enemy,  or  perchance  in 
falling  back  to  take  new  positions,  might  result  (as  it  did  after  the 


6 

battles  near  Richmond  and  the  marches  into  Maryland  and  the  battle  at 
Sharpsburfi)  in  depriving  our  soldiers  of  most  of  their  clothinf^  and 
blankets,  and  leave  them  again  shoeless  and  in  rags.  "What  would  then 
be  our  condition  if  wc  had  not  a  supply  on  hand  ready  to  rdiove  them  ? 
and  again,  what  would  be  the  condition  of  our  wounded  and  diseased, 
if  after  a  series  of  those  bloody  battles,  for  which  this  merciless  war  is 
so  dist1ngai.«hcd,  there  should  be  rjo  adcqunte  provision  n)adc  of  hospi- 
tals and  hospital  stores'  tc  assuage  the  sufTorings  of  the  wounded  and 
the  dying?  Shall  we  depend  upon  the  Confederate  Government 
alone  to  provide  these  things  ?  It  is  their  duiij^  we  admit.  ]^ut  cc.n  it 
do  it ;  at  present,  or  in  time  for  our  wants  ?  Contemplate  its  condition, 
and  then  judge  it  with  candor,  and  decide  with  generosity. 

THE    CONFEDERATE    GOVERNMENT  '  AT    PRESENT    UNABLE    TO    SUPPLY 
THESE  WANTS. — THE   CAUSES  OF  THIS      ' 

Brought  into  esist<;.iee  during  a  period  of  intense  political  excite- 
ment, set  upon,  whilst  yet  in  its  swaddling  clothes,  by  the  most  powerful 
and  ferocious  hulhj  which  disgraces  the  fajnily  of  nations,  with  no 
fiiendly  allies  to  interpose  their  good  ofEces,  ^nd  no  armaments  on  foot 
to  repel  the  first  rude  assaults,  the  Coufederitte  Government  has  been 
strained  to  the  utmost  from  the  very  beginning  to  maintain  its  cxisWnce. 
How  has  it  been  since?  Unlike  old  :lnd  established  Governments,  which 
have  had  time  to  Liy  up  great  magazines  of  arms,  ammunition  and  mili- 
tary stores  of  all  kinds,  the  Confederate  Government  commenced  its 
career  witl¥)ut  the  possession  of  a  solitary  item  of  either;  and  the 
States,  of  which  the  Confederacy  is  composed,  had  but  the  scantiest 
supply.  Of  great  public  warehouses  filled  with  soldiers'  clothes,  blan- 
kets, shoes  and  other  provisions  for  an  army,  as  itf  older  Governments, 
there  were  of  these,  in  the  Confederacy,  absolutely  none.  Cutoff  from 
all  the  marts  of  commerce,  and  shut  up  from  from  till  intercourse  with 
the  outer  world,  by  a  rigorous  blockade,  which  we  had  no  navy  to  re- 
move, thrown  upon  our  own  resources,  which,  though  naturally  abun- 
dant, were  almost  entirely  undeveloped,  the  Confederate  Government  was- 
almost  left  to  the  difficult,  if  not  impo.ssible,  task  oH  creating  everything 
out  of  nothing.  In  the  meantime  our  vindictive  foe,  with  all  the  world 
open  before  him,  from  which  to  draw  his  supplies  and  his  implements 
of  destruction,  has  been  pouring  in  his  countless  hosts  upon  us  through 
every  entrance  by  wl'ich  he  can  assail  us,  from  the  PcJtomac  to  the  llio 
Grande,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  borders  of  New  Mexico.  •  Can  it 
then,  in  candor,  be  expected   that  a  Government  so  young,  so  unpro- 


vided,  so  scanty  in  its  means,  so  restricted  in  its  sources  of  supply,  and 
so  harassed  by  the  invasion  of  its  people  at  every  assailable  point, 
covering  an  area  of  over  a  thousand  miles  in  extent;  can  it  be  QiS.pected, 
we  say,  that  TjUcIi  a  Government,  embarrassed  by  such  circumstnnccs, 
,can  attend  to  the  wants  of  our  soldiers  in  every  part  of  l^iis  wide- 
spread territory,  or  have  hospitals  and  hospital  stores  provided  for  our 
wounded  and  sick,  wherever  in  the  chances  of  war, , they  may  happeii 
to  be  stricken  down?     We  think  it  cannot  reasonabl}^  be  expected.    - 

Eut  there  is  another  consideration,  too  iu)portnnt  to  be  lost  sight  of, 
in  making  up  our  judgment  as  to  the  inability  of  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment fully  to  clothe  our  soldiers,  and  care  for  our  wounded  and  sick, 
and  whicli,  therefore,  should  claim  from  the  States  the  duty,  for  the 
time,  of  attending  to  these  matters. 

THE  SPECULATORS,  THE  MONOPOLISTS,  THE  EXTORTIONERS,.  THE 
MANUFACTURERS — THEIR  SELIISH  POLICY  HOSTILE  TO  THE  GOV- 
ERNMENT AND  OUR  PEOPLE.  ' 

When  the  people  of  the  South,  for  causes  which  no  people  on  earth 
ever  had  stronger  to  justify  them,  determined  to  withdraw  from  the 
control  of  the  Federal  Governmen^  and  when  an  abolition  President, 
backed  by  an  abolition  Congress,  undertook  to  reduce  us  to  subjuga- 
tion, it  was  reasonably  to  have  been  expected  that  cverij  man  amongst) 
us  (not  Yankee  at  heart),  would  give  his  willing  aid  to  our  Government) 
and  people  in  ridding  ourselves  of  this  vulgar  despotism,  in  such  form, 
and  to  such  extent,  as  his  peculiar  pursuits  or  his  means  might  justifj-. 
It  was  not  expected  that  the  capitalist,  instead  of  employing  his  money 
in  support  of  the  Confederate  Government,  and  in  sticngthening  its 
credit,  would  be  found  pursuing  a  course  of  conduct  hostile  to  both. 
■It  was  not  expected. that  he  would  pervert  himself  into  an  eager  specn- 
lator,  peering  into  all  the  byways  of  trafBc,  and  buying  up  all  the  salt, 
and  svgnr,  and  bacon,  and  r/raln,  and  evcrijlhinrj  -^Xuch,  by  his  cunnintr, 
he  could  tempt  out  of  first  hands  for  the  purpose  of  selling  them  again 
to  Government,  or  the  people,  at  extortionate  advances. 

Again,  it  was  not  expected  that  the  p^prietors  of  our  factories 
would  so  soon  have  forgotten  their  duties  as  jSuuthcrii  citizens,  amidst 
their  enormous  dividends  as  stockholders,  as  to  charge  the  Government 
for  cloth  to  cloth'o  our  soldiers  from  four  to  six  times  as  much  as  it 
cost  thcui  to  make  those  fabrics;  nor  that  they  would  charge  the  poor 
families  around  them  for  the  yarn,  from  which  to  clothe  their  children, 
from  five  to  eight  times  as  much  as  they  formeHy  paid  for  it.     Yet; 


such  is  tbe  humiliating  spectacle  which  the  true  men  of  Uie  South 
have  daily  to  contemplate  ;  the  capilaUs(f  sp'culalor.  the  monopolist, 
the  ejclordoner,  the  manufacturer,  all  forgetting  the  South  and  her 
wrongs,  and  their  duty  to  aid  her,  and  all  pressing  on,  with  eager  eyes, 
ia  pur.-uit  of  "moncyj  "  all  taking  advantage  of  the.  distresses  of  our. 
pecJple  brought  upon  us  by  this  cruel  war;  and  most  of  them  having,  ap- 
parently, no  other  aim  or  aspiration  than  piling  up  dollar  upon  dollar 
and  "making  their  fortunes,"  now  (whilst  the  war  is  upon  us  and  our 
ports  blockaded)  by  etiormous  extortions  upon  the  Government,  and 
the  most  grinding  exactions  upon  the  poor.  And  upon  whom  are 
these  exactions  practiced  ?  "Why  upon  the  Government  and  the  families 
of  those  soldiers  whQ  axe  protect  in  f]  their  property,  and  allowing  them  the 
privilege  of  staying  at  home,  which  privilege  they  abuse  by  heartlessly 
robbing  their  families. 

TRUE   ALLIES    OF   THE    YANKEES. 

Surely  our  Yankee  enemies  without  can  desire  no  better  allies  than 
these  men  of  Yankee  souls  amongst  us,  and  our  people  have  begun 
already  to  consider,  whether. a  class  of  men  who  isolate  themselves  so 
injuriously  from  the  interests  of  our  Government  and  from  the  sympa- 
thies of  our  citizens,  deserve  our  conCdeuce;  next,  whether  any  cA/ss  or 
interest,  which  so  employs  their  capital  or  so  regulates  their  business 
(with  a  view  to  income). as  to  make  the  continuance  of  the  war  neces- 
sary to  the  building  up  colos.sal  fortunes,  should  be  any  longer  allotced 
to  conduct  their  business  upon  such  principles  as  to  tempt  to  unfaithful- 
ness to  our  cause;  and,  third,  whether  the  Legislature  may  not  consider 
how  far  it  may  be  in  their  power  to  interpose  to  prevent  these  enor- 
mous extortions,  and  reduce  these  incomes  somewhat  within  the  bounds 
of  moderation.  ,  , 

These  questions,  in  view  of  the  eager  speculations  which  are  going 
on  in  the  ^all,  surjar  and/oo^Zof  tlie  country,  and  in  view  of  the  ex- 
orbitant prices  which  are  charged  by  manufacturers  au^  others,  the 
hoarders  of  cloths  necessary  for  the  clothiiig  of  our  troops,  are  being 
earnestly  agitated  by  our  neople,  and  they  look  to  the  Legislature  to 
devise  some  sharp,  prompt  remedies,  in  order  that  stillheavicr  burdens 
may  not  be  imposed  upon  the  Government  in  supporting  our  armies, 
and  upon  our  citizens  in  procuring  tliesc'neccssarios  of  life.  They  ex- 
pect no  relaxation  in  the  policy  of  the  manufacturers,  the  speculators 
and  extortioners,  utilil  their  hands  are /ci?r/7/''//  pulled  out,  by  law,  from 
the  pockets  of  our  people,  where  they  are  now  thrust  "down  elbow  deep. 


The  enormous  clividend^?  wliieh  have  been  so  frequently  distributed 
amongst  the  stockholders,  have  "blinded  the  eyes  of  their  minds"  to 
a  true  perception  of  their  own  position,  to  their  duties  to  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  live,  or  to' the  Government  which  protects  them. 

They  seem  to  be  under  the  delusion  that  the  public  view  their  con- 
duct with  the  same  complacency  that  they,  regard  it  themselves;  and 
they  are  not  wanting  in  advocates,  who,  with  the  industry  of  a  paid 
t  agent,  and  the  effrontery  of  the  regular  "  Down  Easter,"  juadft/  their 
course  in  the  public  prints,  whilst  there  are  others  who  prate  about  "do- 
mestic industry,  and  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand,"  with  a  pedantry 
in  using  these  maxims,  as  though  the  various  employments  of  our  people 
were  flowing  on,  smoothly,  in  their  accustomed  channels,  jftd  were  not, 
on  t.he  contrary,  deranged,  and  cholced  up,  and  perverted  by  our  ene- 
mies abroad,  and  by  the  extortioners  and  speculators  at  home.  The 
agency  of  these  avfiricious  men,  in  inflating  prices  and  depreciating  the 
Confederate  currency,  is  most  embarrassing  to  the  vigorous  action  of 
the  Government,  and  damaging  to  our  cause,  and  should  not  be  over- 
looked in  considering  the  difiiculiies  in  the  way  of  the  Confederate 
Government  in  furnishing  clothing  to  our  armies. 

If,  then,  that  Government,  from  those  v;:rious  causes,  be  unalle  to 
clothe  our  soldiers,  or  minister  as  it  ought,  to  our  sick  and  wotindcd 
among  them,  shall  they  be  loft  to  neglect  and  suffering,  because  some 
sharp  logician,  from  motives  of  parsimony,  would  persuade  u§  that' it  is 
the  duty  of  that  Government  and  not  our  own,  to  provide  for  their 
relief?  If  these  sufi'ering  victims  to  the  harshness  of  cruel  war  did 
not  stand  to  us  in  the  relation  of  brothers,  ovsons,  ox  fathers,  find,  there- 
fore, had  claims  upon  our  gentleness  and  humanity,  we  would  never^ 
thelcss  be  slow  to  believe  that  a  Legislature  of  South  Carolina  gentlemen  ' 
could  be  influenced  by  such  austere  principles,  or  penurious  considera- 
tions, to  withhold  from  them  relief. 

4  AID.  FROM  SOME  SOURCE  NECESSARY.      ■ 

State  aid  or  individual  contrihutions  we  deem  then  essential,  if'wc 
would  relieve  that  suff'criug,  or  (what  ife  equally  important)  if  we  would 
keep  our  armies  in  the  field  in  a  state  of  efficiency,  and  not  hare  our 
men  in*the  hospitals  in  a  state  of  uselcssness  and  expense  to  the  Coun- 
try. Considerations  of  sound  policy  then,  no  less  than  of  humanity,' 
call  upon  us  to  see  that  our  soldiers  be  well  clothed  when  on  duty,  and 
well  cared  for  when  sick. 


10 

SHALL  IT  BE  BY  Tl  KLIC  OR  PRIVATE  CONTRIBUTIONS. 

And  here  arises  the  questions  which  the  "Central  Association"  has 
directed  jour  Memorialists  to  submit  to  your  honorable  bodies  :  "  Shall 
this  work  be  undertaken  by  priwitc  individuals^  and  supported  by  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  the  liberal,  the  public  spirited  and  humane 
in  the  community ;  or,  second,  will  the  State  take  the  mattec  under  its 
own  control ;  or,  third,  merely  uive  its  aid  to  private  Associations  on 
terms  of  strict  accountability  to  the  State,  for  all  funds  with  which  the 
Association  may  be. entrusted."  The  last  is  the  plan  pursued  in  Geor* 
gia.  But  any  plan  which  will  hcs(  accomplish  the  object  will  be  the 
one  most  acceptable  to  the  friends  of  the  soldier.  In  the  opinion  of 
yolir  Memorialists  the  plan  of  individual  contribudon  and  j^rivatc  vian- 
aijcmcnt  is  the  safest,  most  economical,  and  most  effectual,  as  long'as  it 
can  be  kept  up.  But- it  soon  wears  out  by  the  cxliaustion  of  the  con- 
tributors. The  same  public  spirited  and  liberal  men^who  contribute 
largely  at  first,  will  be  likely  to  do  the  same  at  succeeding  applications, 
until  at  length  they  have  notlilng  more  to  give,  and  the  bcnovolent 
enterprise  dies  out  for  want  of  funds,  whilst  oftentimes  much  richer 
men  around  them  give  nothing,  or  but  trifles,  too  paltry  to  be  accepted. 

SOME  MEN   CONSTITUTIONALLY  PENURIOUS. 

The  experience  of  the  Central  Association,"  and  no  douot  of  all 
others,  corroborates  this  view.  "Whilst  some  men  of  comparatively 
moderate  means  have  contributed  to  the  cause  their  two  hundred,  their 
five  hundred  and  their  three  hundred  dollars,  others  much  wealthier 
have  given  sums  disgustingly  insignificant  for  men  of  their  means;  and 
yet  all  are  equally  interested  in  keeping  up  our  army  in  a  state  of 
highest  efficiency,  «s  the  best  if  not  only  iiieaus  of  defending  our  coun-'. 
try  and  ultimately  establishing  our  independence.  An  appropriation 
from  the  public  treasury  is  therefore  the  fairest  mode  of  providing  the 
funds,  and  coming  as  an  asses.smeut  upon  property  through  the  tax 
collector,  every  man,  no  matter  how  penurious  in  his  habits,  will  be  7n(idc 
to  contribute  his  share  towards^hls  own  safety. 

"  Who  shall  be  appointed, to  take  tharge  of  this  fund,  and  apply. it 
to  its  proper  u.ses,"  your  Memorialists  would  leave  to  the  wisdom  of  the 
Legislature  to  decide.  They  shall  have  accomplished  theij-  object,  if 
by  their  instrumentality  a  fund  shall  be  provided  by  the  Legislature 
and  devoted  to  the  proper  clothing  of  our  soldiers  in  the  field  and  a 
humane  watchfulness  over  them  when  suffering  from  wounds  or  sick- 
ness. 


•  11 

The  amount  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Association,  would  be 
required  for  that  purpose  would  be  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  ;  not  a 
dollar  of  which  should  be  allowed  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  public  treas- 
ury except  under  the  most  careful  safeguards.  Under  favorable  cir- 
cuilistances  the  half  of  that  sum  may  not  be  called  for;  whilst 
emergencies  may  arise,  in  which  the  whole  amount  may  be  insuflScient. 
We  therefore  pray  your  honorable  body  that  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  be  appropriated  for  the  purposes  contemplate  in  this  memorlQl, 
and  with  considerations  of  high  respect,  subscribe  ourselves, 

Your  fellow  citizens, 

J.  TO WNSEND,  Chairman, 
B.  M.  PALMER,   ,^ 
WM.  F.  DeSAUSSURE, 
M. LaBORDE, 
Committee  on  hclialf  of  Central  Association. 
Columbia,  November  22d,  1862.  "     ^ 


! 


pH8J 


